Rob Penny
| birth_place = | death_date = March | death_place = | resting_place = | occupation = Writer and academic | language = | nationality = | ethnicity = African-American | citizenship = United States | education = | alma_mater = | period = | genre = African American Drama | subject = | movement = | notableworks = | spouse = Timau Betty Penny | partner = | children = Johnny Penny, Robert Lee Penny Jr., and Kadumu Penny | relatives = Two brothers, Roy Lee PennySr. and Jefferson Davis Penny Jr., and Two sisters, Ann Penny and Betty Jean Penny | influences = | influenced = | awards = | signature = | signature_alt = | website = | portaldisp = }} Robert Lee '"'Rob"' Penny' (August 6, 1941 - March 16, 2003) was an African-American poet, playwright, and academic. Life Youth Penny was born in Opelika, Alabama. As a toddler he moved to the Hill District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he was raised. A 1957 graduate of Pittsburgh's Central Catholic High School, Penny had childhood aspirations of joining the priesthood. Academic life Penny was in the original cohort of faculty hired in 1969 by Jack Daniel, vice provost for academic affairs and dean of students at the University of Pittsburgh (UP), where Penny began teaching as an associate professor in 1969. Penny was a founding member of UP's Africana Studies Department, now known as the Black Studies Department, and served as its chair from 1978 to 1984. "In terms of his professionalism, he was as close as someone can get to being an unrecognized genius. He appeared to be a simple man, but was actually quite complex," Daniel said. "As a person, with his theatrical influence, he was genuinely in touch with the human side of all of us. He was thought-provoking, forever challenging, dedicated, sincere and warm, with a kind of stick-to-itiveness -- someone who always kept his eye on the prize." Dennis Brutus describes his former colleague "as a person who inspired his students. He was always encouraging and helpful. As a poet myself, I can say he also was a fine poet, in the black poetic tradition, who inspired others to write, especially through the Kuntu Writers Workshop. And he was a man who was an inspiration to young people in terms of his activism and community activities." Theatrical contributions In 1968, Penny and his friend August Wilson, a fellow Pittsburgh poet and playwright, co-founded the Black Horizon Theater, which staged performances until the mid-1970s. Dr. Vernell A. Lillie founded the Kuntu Repertory Theatre in 1975 as a way of showcasing Penny's plays. Penny was the playwright-in-residence for the Kuntu Repertory Theatre. Today, the theatre continues to hold performances of Rob’s plays. In 1976, Penny and Wilson co-founded the Kuntu Writers Workshop, which Penny coordinated until his death on March 16, 2003. The 62-year-old poet, playwright, teacher, and activist died of a heart attack at his Hill District home on March 16, 2003. Writing Rob Penny's plays have been nationally produced in such theatres as the aforementioned Kuntu Repertory Theatre, Chicago's ETA / Creative Arts Foundation, Inc. New York's New Federal Theatre founded by Woody King, Jr. as well as Brooklyn, New York's celebrated Billie Holiday Theatre, the world premiere of 'Nefertari Rising last year was also directed by Woody King, Jr. Hotep, Oba, Yebo. Penny wrote more than 30 plays and 300 poems. Below is a number of plays written by Penny: • Bad News • Blue Yonder • Boppin' With The Ancestors • Coon Can • Dance of the Blues Dead • Deeds of Blackness • Depths of Her Star, The • Dianne's Heart Dries Out Stifi More • Good Black Don't Crack • Good Quick Feel-and Then We Build upon a Plan, A • Life Rise • Little Willie Armstrong Jones • Night of the Hawk • Republic of New Africa, The • Sugar and Thomas • Take on a Life • Trip, A • Uhh Survival Energy • Up to Life • Way, The • Who Loves the Dancer Recognition Pittsburgh City Council honored Penny by presenting the Penny family with a key to the City of Pittsburgh for his commitment to social activism, dedication to encouraging youth, and contributions to the greater Hill District community. July 29, 2008 was officially the City of Pittsburgh's Rob Penny Day. Since 2004, the African-American Council for the Arts PIttsburgh has presented an annual Rob Penny Lifetime Achievement Award.Robert Lee "Rob" Penny, AACTA Pittsburgh. Web, Mar. 31, 2013. Publications Poetry *''Black Tones of Truth''. Pittsburgh, PA: Oduduwa Productions, 1968. *''Poems for Reading at a Sharpeville Commemoration'' (pamphlet; with Chris Gilbert, Dennis Brutus, Maisha Baton, Ann Sawyer Berkley, and Joyce Ficklin). Pittsburgh, PA: Department of Black Community Education, 1986. *''Romance, Rhythm and Revolution: Selected Poetry of Rob Penny''. Magnolia Press, 1990.'Romance, Rhythm and Revolution: Selected Poetry of Rob Penny (Hardcover). Amazon.com, Web, Mar. 31, 2013. Plays *''Pain in My Heart''. Alexandria, VA: Alexander Street Press, 2001 *''Good Black Don't Crack''. Alexandria, VA: Alexander Street Press, 2001. *''Murderer on the Hill District''. Alexandria, VA: Alexander Street Press, 2002. *''Diana's Heart Dries Out Still More''. Alexandria, VA: Alexander Street Press, 2002. *''Sun Rising on the Hill District''. Alexandria, VA: Alexander Street Press, 2004. *''Boppin' with the Ancestors''. Alexandria, VA: Alexander Street Press, 2004. *''Little Willie Armstrong Jones''. Alexandria, VA: Alexander Street Press, 2004. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:Rob Penny, WorldCat, OCLC, Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Jan. 13, 2015. See also :African American poets *List of U.S. poets *List of English-language playwrights References * Notes External links ;Poems *Robert Penny 3 poems at The Headless Way ;About *Robert Lee "Rob Penny at African American Council of the Arts Pittsburgh * Obituary: Robert Lee "Rob" Penny, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, March 18, 2003. * "Death of a Poet: Rob Penny told the story of the black experience," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, March 19, 2003. *In Memoriam - Rob Penny, Pitt Chronicle. *Obituary: Robert Lee "Rob" Penny, University Times, March 20, 2003. * Robert Lee "Rob" Penny in Chicken Bones: A journal * Plays by Rob Penny ;Etc. * Kuntu Repertory Theatre Homepage Category:1941 births Category:2003 deaths Category:American dramatists and playwrights Category:American poets Category:African-American writers Category:Writers from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Category:University of Pittsburgh faculty Category:20th-century poets Category:English-language poets Category:People from Alabama Category:Poets Category:American academics Category:African American poets